Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party has announced plans to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years, taking his presidency through to 2030. The proposal was confirmed by a party spokesman on Tuesday, even though the country’s constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms. Mnangagwa’s second term is set to end in 2028.
Farai Marapira, party director of information said the decision was a party position but did not provide specific details on how the extension would be implemented, nor whether constitutional amendments would be required. Asked whether this would entail changing the constitutional term limit, Marapira said the “modalities have not been decided.
Since gaining independence from Rhodesia back in 1980, Robert Mugabe would have been controlling Zimbabwe as a prime minister/president until removed through a successful coup in 2017, while his regimes, marked with violence and fear, ensured there would be a strong grip over the country that could last more than three decades. In 2013, Mugabe signed a new constitution into law that capped presidential terms, but it did not apply retroactively, allowing him to stay in office for an additional ten years if he had not been removed.
Mnangagwa, who succeeded Mugabe, is now seeking to extend his rule beyond 2028, a move that will likely stir political debate and raise questions about the future of Zimbabwe’s democratic processes.
